Yes, Apple Brandy Goes With Cynar Too

A pair of bittersweet, fall-friendly, apple brandy/Cynar team-ups.

When I made the case for apple brandy last month, I argued that its greatest strength was its ability to partner with just about any other ingredient: whiskey, mezcal, aged rum, cognac, even aquavit — with a little work, apple brandy can harmonize with just about any other base spirit. When you want to make a classic (or modern classic) cocktail taste a little bit more autumnal, you should probably start by asking: Why not include some apple brandy? 

I suspect a lot of people have a friend who makes a great addition to any dinner party.¹ You’re putting together a guest list, and there are some friends you want at the table, but maybe it would be somewhat awkward to have some other friends, even folks you rather like, just because of different personalities or social contexts or past disagreements.²

But there’s one friend who fits gracefully into any social setting, who keeps the conversation flowing and is interesting and fun and friendly no matter the group. If that friend were a bottle of booze, the bottle would be apple brandy.   

Apple brandy plays quite well with an array of common modifying ingredients, too. Indeed, it’s particularly good with my favorite weird bittersweet liqueur, Cynar.

Cynar’s unique flavor is particularly welcome this time of year, as its multitude of herbal ingredients tastes something like a harvest. In cocktails, Cynar melds with apple brandy to give drinks an earthy, caramel-crusted edge. The combo is warming, gently spicy, and delicious. 

I also feel a sense of personal responsibility — even duty —  when it comes to pairing these two ingredients. 

Last year, I wrote about how I put Cynar in everything. This year, I wrote about the excellence of apple brandy as a partnering ingredient.

If I’m going to stand by my arguments, then I ought to be able to demonstrate that the two can get along in a glass. 

I am nothing if not a man of my word. Or at least a man of my drinks.

So today, we’re going to look at a pair of cocktails that combine apple brandy with Cynar — one shaken, one stirred. They’re both bittersweet and apple-forward, with layers and layers of flavor.

Conveniently, they are also both quite easy to make so long as you have bottles of apple brandy and Cynar on hand. And if you don’t, well, perhaps this newsletter will convince you that it’s finally time.

Stirred, Boozy, and Weird

In last week’s edition, I told the story of a friend who made a habit of asking skilled bartenders for a Smoky, Artsy, Autumnal Sour (SAAS) —  a drink description that eventually produced one of the better off-menu cocktails I’ve ever tried. 

During that same period, my go-to description for a bartender’s choice cocktail was something along the lines of “stirred, boozy, and weird.” Sometimes I’d say “bitter” instead of boozy, but the basic parameters were clear: I wanted something strong and unusual. As you might imagine, I got a lot of out-there Negroni riffs,³ along with some oddball Old Fashioneds. 

But the very best drink I ever received from this order is one I wrote about briefly many years ago — a drink I started making and serving at home under the moniker “Conor’s Favorite.”⁴

Conor’s Favorite came from the Tasting Kitchen in Venice, California. I made my request, and the bartender responded something to the effect of, “I’m just going to combine a few of my favorite things.” 

The result was this easy three-ingredient sipper, which hits the “stirred, boozy, and weird” dartboard dead center.